Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly instructing aides to draw up plans for an independent, 2016 run at the White House.

The New York Times reports Bloomberg has also made it known he would be willing to spend up to $1 billion of his own fortune to finance his campaign. The 73-year-old business mogul is now reported to have given himself an early March deadline for actually entering the already crowded battle to emerge as Barack Obama's successor.

Bloomberg is also rumored to have commissioned a poll over the month of December to gauge how well he stacks up against respective party front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Though no independent has ever won a U.S. presidential election, Bloomberg is said to be emboldened about his prospects, particularly given a scenario where either Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz actually emerges as the Republican nominee and if Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is somehow able to earn the Democratic nomination.

Bloomberg has long held close ties to Wall Street and is almost just as well known for his liberal stances on various social issues. He served as mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, formally switching his party affiliation from Republican to Independent in 2007. In recent times, he has also spent millions on various campaigns aimed at reforming immigration and tightening gun laws.

A Bloomberg adviser, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Times the former mayor sincerely believes voters want "a non-ideological, bipartisan, results-oriented vision," which he is convinced is an option that has not been offered by any of the candidates from either party.

Though no third-party candidate has ever claimed the White House, several prior runs have greatly impacted the trajectory of the race, most recently Texas' businessman Ross Perot's 1992 third party run, which some still insist paved the way for Bill Clinton to knock off GOP incumbent George W. Bush.

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